More Articles

WARSAW, Ohio -- Strip-club owner Tommy George rolled up to the church in his grabber-orange
Dodge Challenger, drinking a Mountain Dew at 9 in the morning and smoking a cigarette he had
just rolled himself.

Pastor Bill Dunfee stepped out of a tan Nissan Murano, clutching a Bible in one hand and his
sermon in the other, a touch of spray holding his perfectly coiffed 'do in place.

Both men agree it is classic sinners vs. saints. But George says it is up to America to decide
which is which and who is who.

Dunfee says God already has chosen.

"Tom George is a parasite, a man without judgment," Dunfee said. "The word of Jesus Christ says
you cannot share territory with the devil."

The battle that has heretofore played out in the parking lot of George's strip club - the
Foxhole, a run-down, garage-like building at a Coshocton County crossroads called Newcastle - has
shifted 7 miles east to Church Street.

Every weekend for the last four years, Dunfee and members of his ministry have stood watch over
George's joint, taking up residence in the right of way with signs, video cameras and bullhorns in
hand. They videotape customers' license plates and post them online, and they try to save the souls
of anyone who comes and goes.

Now, the dancers have turned the tables, so to speak. Fed up with the tactics of Dunfee and his
flock, they say they have finally accepted his constant invitation to come to church.

They sat in front of the church and waved at passing cars but largely ignored the congregation
behind them.

Likewise, the churchgoers largely ignored the dancers. Except for Stan Braxton. He stopped and
held hands with Lola, a 42-year-old dancer who made $200 on her Saturday night shift, and prayed
for her salvation.

Lola, who wouldn't give her last name, said she was grateful for Braxton's prayers and his
time.

The women don't come here, after all, without their own version of religion. They bring signs
with Scriptures written in neon colors:

Matthew 7:15: Beware of false prophets who come to you in sheep's clothing

Revelations 22:11: He that is unjust, let him be unjust still

Greg Flaig is executive director of the Ohio Owners Coalition, a group of showbar and club
owners. He called the women's protest extraordinary, saying he's never heard of anything like it in
the country.

George said the protest has been a long time coming. He sued the church in federal court several
years ago, claiming a violation of his constitutional rights, but he lost. Now, he said, turnabout
is fair play.

"When these morons go away, we'll go away," George said. "The great thing about this country is
that everyone has a right to believe what they want."

He said his club operates within the law. Dunfee said it does not, that it must close at
midnight instead of its regular 2 or 3 a.m. Coshocton County Prosecutor Bob Batchelor said Friday
only that he, the sheriff and the city prosecutor are "aware of the situation."

Gina Hughes spent the morning soaking up the sun in her striped bikini, mostly oblivious to the
fire and brimstone being preached in the tidy church building.

The 30-year-old married mother of six said she has danced at the Foxhole for a decade and holds
the title of "house mom." That means that even though she still dances, she also watches out for
the six other women who work there.

She said she makes $2,000 a week.

"These church people say horrible things about us," Hughes said. "They say we're homewreckers
and whores. The fact of the matter is, we're working to keep our own homes together, to give our
kids what they need."

Dunfee said it's not that simple. He said he consistently offers the women help, a chance at
redemption.

"I tell them, 'I will put a roof over your heads, and your bills will be paid, and your
children's bellies will be full,'" he said. Yet they don't come inside.

The first few weeks, Dunfee piped the sermon outside. But that "agitated" them, he said, and
made them dance in the streets.

He said their presence has united his church members and reinvigorated their mission to shut
down the club.

"They have now seen the evil firsthand," Dunfee said. "This has just made us stronger."

George laughed at that notion.

"They're just mad," he said, "because their wives won't let them come to my club."